‘Ozamiz gang paid off cops’

MANILA, Philippines - Slain Ozamiz robbery gang leader Ricky Cadavero was able to walk free late last year under the protection of Cavite police, according to his sister Rosalinda.

Rosalinda revealed her brother had told her on the phone that he paid some policemen from Cavite to protect him after he escaped from prison last December.

“He told me he paid the entire Cavite police so they will not arrest him,” Rosalinda told GMA News in Filipino yesterday.

Rosalinda flew home from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, saying her brother was intentionally killed by his police escorts.

According to Rosalinda, she was able to talk to her brother through cellular phone before he was killed last Monday.

“Ricky told me everything. He would never keep secrets from me,” she said.

The Cavite Provincial Police has yet to comment on the allegations of Rosalinda, but Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac said her allegations must be supported with evidence.

“This is a serious allegation,” said Sindac.

Based on what her brother revealed to her, Rosalinda expressed belief that he and another Ozamiz gang leader, Wilfredo Panogalinga, were murdered, contrary to claims by the police that they tried to grab their escorts’ firearms in an attempt to escape.

Rosalinda said her brother had already sensed that he would be killed, thus he requested that his safety be ensured because he knew some policemen had some plans against him.

Both Rosalinda and their mother Luzviminda said they did not know the others involved in  robbery.

Luzviminda admitted her son had an ambition to be rich someday by living by the gun.

PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima said he wanted a thorough investigation into the killing of Cadavero and Panogalinga on the possibility that they were silenced to prevent them from revealing their protectors.

Purisima noted Cadavero, hours before he was killed, had requested to be transferred under the custody of Senior Superintendent Danilo Mendoza, head of the Calabarzon police Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG), instead of going back to the National Bilibid Prison (NBP).

He said there seems to be an impression that policemen in Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) are involved in illegal activities in the region.

Earlier this year, the regional police were also involved in the killing of 13 men in Atimonan, Quezon.

The regional police chief at the time was sacked along with several other high ranking police officials following the killings, which also involved a high ranking police officer and a suspected illegal gambling operator.

“Actually, that’s part of the IAS (Internal Affairs Service) investigation as to why there seems to be a certain culture among policemen in Calabarzon. We will look into it and take action,” Purisima said.

‘Rubout’

Malacañang also raised concerns about repeated cases of suspected criminals getting killed while in police custody, describing last Monday’s death of two robbery gang leaders as a “rubout.”

“The idea of detained prisoners being shot while in transit is something that... always raises a lot of questions and, therefore, this will be investigated also by the DOJ (Department of Justice) and also by the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda also welcomed reports that a new witness stood forward to prove allegations of a summary execution, where 15 police officials and officers were relieved following Monday’s killing.

Calabarzon regional police director Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona and 14 other police officers were ordered relieved by Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II on Tuesday, citing initial reports by the police investigating the incident.

Roxas said Estipona has been recalled to the Philippine National Police (PNP) national headquarters pending the investigation into the death of Cadavero and Panogalinga.

The two were in the custody of the police when they were shot while allegedly trying to grab the firearms of their escorts.

The incident prompted a wider investigation from the DILG, the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation, along with other police units.

This is being investigated already. This is something that we certainly would have to look into,” Lacierda said.

He added the DILG’s IAS is also involved in the investigation.  â€“Aie Balagtas See, Delon Porcalla, Ed Amoroso, Perseus Echeminada